This blog is a collection random musings on the state of general aviation and some of the interesting stories that abound among pilots.

Monday, June 15, 2009

Filling the panel

I've been spending a ridiculous amount of time on cutting the panel and getting the jig lined up right for the screw hole locations for the steam (round)gauges. But most of the cutting is done (I still have to put a master switch in and a few other things) but the initial filling of the panel is going pretty well.

With the panel mostly cut, I'm ready to put the Vertical Power control box back in and start significant wiring once I get a gizmo to crimp on a #8 terminal ring to bring power from the battery contactor to the Vertical Power system. You can see I've put in the instrument panel Vertical Power interface, which is about as easy as it gets -- a bracket, a thumbscrew and -- voila! This system brings a solid state approach to aircraft avionics instead of fuses, circuit breakers and switches.

This is not a show-stopping panel but you know what? The more I look at it, the more I love how I have it arranged for the way I fly. And thanks to Doug Weiler, Tom Berge, and Stein Bruch's presentation a few years ago, I've got everything fitting tightly but efficiently in the panel.

It's a very exciting time. I'll be hanging the engine in a few weeks, the wiring to the rear of the ship is layed, the skin is ready to be riveted on back there and things are moving right along to the point where I'm starting to think 2011 might be the year.